Charges brought against driver after four-county chase

Officers say Nichole Lois Gibbs was driving this Honda when she was apprehended off U.S. 70 in Kinston following a Monday chase through Pamlico, Craven, Jones and Lenoir counties.

Janet S. Carter/Halifax Media Services

By Cathryn Lindsay, Sun Journal Staff

Published: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at 04:20 PM.

BAYBORO — Nichole Lois Gibbs, 37, of Bayboro, has been charged with felony flee to elude arrest and reckless driving by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol for leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase that spanned four counties Monday.

She also faces felony fleeing to elude arrest, reckless driving to endanger and failure to heed lights or siren in Pamlico County, according to District Attorney Scott Thomas.

In Jones County, she faces charges of misdemeanor fleeing to elude arrest, careless and reckless driving, failure to heed light or siren and exceeding posted speed, according to Lt. Ryan Muse of the Jones County Sheriff’s Office.

State troopers, along with sheriff’s deputies from Pamlico, Craven, Jones and Lenoir counties, teamed up to apprehend Gibbs on Monday, who had taken her mother’s car.

The incident began when the Pamlico County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from a Gibbs’ family member, who said the Nichole Gibbs was out of control and on medication.

When a law enforcement officer approached the car, which was stopped at a convenience store in Alliance, Gibbs got in her car, locked the door and drove away, investigators said. The officer followed her, but she failed to yield to the lights and sirens.

Another officer joined the chase in Olympia, near the Craven County line, and Gibbs briefly pulled onto the shoulder where she turned around and drove into Craven.

BAYBORO — Nichole Lois Gibbs, 37, of Bayboro, has been charged with felony flee to elude arrest and reckless driving by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol for leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase that spanned four counties Monday.

She also faces felony fleeing to elude arrest, reckless driving to endanger and failure to heed lights or siren in Pamlico County, according to District Attorney Scott Thomas.

In Jones County, she faces charges of misdemeanor fleeing to elude arrest, careless and reckless driving, failure to heed light or siren and exceeding posted speed, according to Lt. Ryan Muse of the Jones County Sheriff’s Office.

State troopers, along with sheriff’s deputies from Pamlico, Craven, Jones and Lenoir counties, teamed up to apprehend Gibbs on Monday, who had taken her mother’s car.

The incident began when the Pamlico County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from a Gibbs’ family member, who said the Nichole Gibbs was out of control and on medication.

When a law enforcement officer approached the car, which was stopped at a convenience store in Alliance, Gibbs got in her car, locked the door and drove away, investigators said. The officer followed her, but she failed to yield to the lights and sirens.

Another officer joined the chase in Olympia, near the Craven County line, and Gibbs briefly pulled onto the shoulder where she turned around and drove into Craven.

Gibbs drove in excess of 120 miles per hour during the incident, according to Muse.

Troopers M.C. Eure and R.J. Onofrio, of the NCSHP, with the assistance of Lenoir County-based troopers Jason Locklear and David Emory, boxed in the vehicle and stopped it on U.S. 70 in a grass median near Kinston city limits.

Gibbs was taken into custody by the Pamlico County Sheriff’s Department and transported back to Pamlico County. She was placed under a $5,000 secured bond.